A toilet for a recreational vehicle typically is assembled from a number of plastic molding, including an upper molding which defines the toilet bowl, and a lower molding or "shell" on which the bowl is supported. The bowl has a waste outlet that discharges into the shell and the shell in turn has an outlet at its lower end which is the main waste outlet from the toilet. In a recreational vehicle, the toilet is installed so that this main outlet communicates with a waste disposal conduit from the vehicle. The waste outlet from the toilet bowl is normally closed by a bowl seal which can be opened for flushing the toilet. Provision is made to deliver water into the bowl for flushing out waste, and for rinsing the surface of the bowl.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,710,988 (Stewart--assigned to Sanitation Equipment Limited) discloses a toilet of the general type discussed above. The toilet has a foot pedal actuated flush mechanism. When the pedal is depressed, flush water is delivered into the bowl and the bowl seal is opened for discharge of waste. Another example of a recreational vehicle toilet with a foot pedal flush is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,320 (Sargent, et al.). In that case, the toilet has separate pedals for flush water and operation of the bowl seal, but the pedals are designed to co-act so that flush water is always provided to the bowl when the bowl seal is opened.
Recreational vehicle toilets are also available with lever-operated flush mechanisms that, at least externally, appear generally similar to lever-operated flush mechanisms for normal household toilets. A consideration in designing a lever-operated flush mechanism for a recreational vehicle toilet is that the mechanism should be designed so that it is always possible for the user to rinse the bowl of the toilet, whether or not the toilet is to be fully flushed. Particularly since recreational vehicle toilets may be used only infrequently, it is desirable for the user to be able to leave the toilet in a condition in which the bowl has been rinsed, even if there has been some failure or malfunction of the lever itself.
An object of the present invention is to provide a toilet which addresses these objectives.